Sam Houston enters the stretch run of the 2009 Southland title chase with four of its final six games at home. The Bearkats play host to Lamar at 7 p.m. in Johnson Coliseum Wednesday night in a rematch of a doule overtime meeting in Beaumont Jan. 28.
The Bearkats defeated the Cardinals 112-105 in that meeting. Ashton Mitchell scored a career high 36 points to lead SHSU. Mitchell broke the school record for most made free throws in a game, going 22-of-27 from the line. Corey Allmond and DeLuis Ramirez each chipped in 18 points apiece. Preston Brown added 14 points, Lance Pevehouse 13 and Barkley Falkner scored 11 points to give the Kats six players in double figures.
Sam Houston stands atop the Southland West Division with an 8-2 record. The Kats are 14-9 overall. Lamar is 3-7 in league play and 12-12 for the season.
While the Cardinals lead the all-time series with SHSU 27 to 22, the Bearkats have won six of the last eight contests. Sam Houston holds a 15-6 advantage in Huntsville.
The Lamar contest in the first of two home games this week at Johnson Coliseum. Saturday, the Bearkats play host to Texas-San Antonio. The UTSA game will feature a special reunion for former Sam Houston men's basketball players.
Last Saturday, Corey Allmond scored 21 points and Preston Brown added 19 as Sam Houston State hung on for another close Southland Conference men's basketball road victory in a 75-73 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center Saturday afternoon.
The Bearkats led 34-29 at halftime and were up by nine points, 61-52, after a pair of free throws by Josten Crow with 6:57 to play. But the Islanders stormed back, going on a 16-5 run to go up 68-66 on a dunk by Tim Green with 2:24 remaining.
Brown and Allmond combined for nine points and Crow took a critical charge with 1:07 left as the Bearkats improve never trailed again.
The Bearkats have won five of their six road games in Southland play in 2009. SFA edged the Kats 75-73 in the league opener. Sam Houston has posted road wins over Texas St.-San Marcos, Lamar, Texas-San Antonio and Central Arkansas.
Two of the road wins were double overtime victories (112-105 at Lamar and 89-86 at UTSA). The Bearkats have gone to overtime seven times in the past two seasons including five OT contests last season.
Allmond leads the team with 14.8 points and ranks No. 2 in the Southland Conference and No. 13 in NCAA Division I men's basketball with .438 three-point accuracy (71 of 162).
Cowley County transfer forward 6-6 Preston Brown is third on the team with a 10.3 scoring average. San Jac transfer guard 6-1 Lance Pevehouse averages 8.9 points and holds a .324 shooting mark from beyond the arc. Huntsville product freshman 5-10 Drae Murray addes 5.0 points and 2.3 assists per contest.
Each of the four has been the leading scorer in at least one Bearkat game this year. Sam Houston State is one of only eight teams in NCAA Division I men's basketball that has had as many as four newcomers be game-leading scorers this season.
Allmond has led the team in 11 games including seven games of 20 or more points. He scored 24 points vs. Schreiner and 23 points at Texas Tech to become only the fourth player in SHSU history to score 20-or-more points in his first two games as a Kat.
Brown has led in four games including 22 points vs. SFA and 21 points against TAMUCC. Pevehouse scored 23 points that included an 80-foot three-point shot at the halftime buzzer at UTEP. Murray led the Kats with 14 points in their victory over UTA.
Point guard Ashton Mitchell, a 5-11 junior from New Orleans, and forward DeLuis Ramirez, a 6-4 senior from Miami, FL, are the two returning starters from 2008.
Mitchell leads the Southland and ranks No. 5 nationally in assists (6.6 per game).
Mitchell adds 13.2 points per game to the Bearkat offense. The junior point guard scored 36 points in the double overtime victory at Lamar, the second highest point total by a Bearkat against an NCAA Division I opponent.
Ramirez is averaging 8.6 points and 6.1 boards. He ranks 10th in the Southland Conference with 6.1 rebounds per contest.
Senior post 6-8 Barkley Falkner has stepped up his game as a starter for the Berakats this year. Falkner is averaging 7.7 points and ranks No. 6 in the Southland with 7.0 rebounds. Last year, he produced stats of 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds as a reserve. Falkner posted career highs of 22 points in the victory at Texas-San Antonio and 13 rebounds in the UTA win. Senior 6-10 Domas Kvedys provides depth at post. Sophomore 6-4 Josten Crow is a defensive standout off the bench.
